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2001: A Space Odyssey

A science-fiction narrative, produced in 1968 as both a film (directed by Stanley Kubrick) and a novel (written by Arthur C. Clarke). Both projects are based on a screenplay developed by Clarke and Kubrick in collaboration, which was loosely based on Clarke's 1950 short story "The Sentinel" and incorporated elements from various other Clarke stories. Although the film has become more famous due to its groundbreaking visual effects and ambiguous, abstract nature, the movie and book were intended to complement each other. Clarke says Kubrick told him roughly what type of story he wanted, then the two phoned each other with various ideas which were incorporated into both the novel and screenplay. The story is based in part on various short stories by Clarke, most notably "The Sentinel" (written in 1948 for a BBC competition but first published in 1951 under the title "Sentinel of Eternity"). The first part of the novel (in which aliens assist the evolution of human ancestors) is similar to the plot of an earlier Clarke story, Encounter at Dawn.

Stanley Kubrick commissioned Alex North to write the score for his film, but decided not to use it in favor of previously recorded classical music. North, unaware that Kubrick had decided not to use the score in his film, was "devastated" at the 1968 New York City premiere screening of 2001 not to hear his work, and later offered this account of his experience: "Well, what can I say? It was a great, frustrating experience, and despite the mixed reaction to the music, I think the Victorian approach with mid-European overtones was just not in keeping with the brilliant concept of Clarke and Kubrick." On hearing the score as it might have been in the film, film scholar Gene Phillips argued that "it is difficult to see how North's music would have been an improvement on the background music that Kubrick finally chose for the film." In his notes for the Jerry Goldsmith recording, however, Kevin Mulhall argues that "there is no doubt that 2001 would have been better if Kubrick had used North's music. Even if one likes some of the choices Kubrick made for certain individual scenes, the eclectic group of classical composers employed by the director... resulted in a disturbing melange of sounds and styles overall." This theme music made its public debut in early 1993 as part of the Telarc compilation CD "Hollywood's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2" by Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and there it was titled "Fanfare for 2001". It would eventually be used by North for his later score to "The Shoes of the Fisherman."
From Wikipedia

The sequel novel "2010" was written by Clarke alone, and adapted as a movie by someone else. Arthur C. Clarke (90) died March 18, 2008. President Mahinda Rajapakse mourned the death of Clarke and paid tribute to him as a "great visionary." His death was a loss to Sri Lanka, the author's adopted home since 1956, Rajapakse said. A few days ago, Clarke reviewed the manuscript of his last novel, "The Last Theorem" co-written with American author Frederik Pohl. The book will be published later this year. The Sri Lanka President had attended Clarke's 90th birthday party, which he refered to as "90 orbits around the sun." Clarke, who in 1945 predicted the establishment of communication satellites (he correctly predicted that as few as 3 satellites would make global wireless communication possible), wrote more than 80 books. He was Sri Lanka's best-known resident guest and has a scientific academy named after him.

Fun facts:
In that famous scene, Gene Kelly is not actually "singing in the rain," because water didn't show up well on camera at night. They used a mixture of milk and water for Gene to splash around in.
For The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Lon Chaney wore a hump weighing over 50 pounds so that he would walk realistically. For "The Penalty" (1920), he had his legs bound tightly behind him in a harness, inserting his knees into leather stumps devised as artificial legs with his feet bound at the thighs. This was a very painful ordeal which cut circulation to his legs resulting in broken blood vessels.

Movie producer David O. Selznick was fined $5000 by the MPAA for allowing the word "damn" in the movie Gone With The Wind. And producer Darryl F. Zanuck once rented the entire country of San Marino, the world's oldest republic, as the medievel setting for "Prince Of Foxes" to be filmed, believe it or not!David Niven was one of the first Hollywood stars to join the war effort, joining the British commando service in 1940.His first feature movie after the war was Stairway To Heaven (1946), about WW2 pilots and others arriving in Heaven.

Freaks (1932) was banned in Britain for 30 years, directed by Tod Browning, and even the ending was edited out before it was released in America. This storyboard wasn't approved for filming (it involved an axe and a bag of feathers)

Rod Serling co-wrote the original screenplay for Planet Of The Apes including the ending on the beach. What would it look like as a Twilight Zone episode? (opening narration comes from the episode "Elegy," closing narration comes from "The Shelter")

TCM was launched 4/14/94 as a 24-hour commercial-free classic movie channel, originally for movies 1930-1960, with the occasional silent movies, and newer movies added over time. It was intended as Ted Turner's answer to American Movie Classics, using the vast film libraries Turner bought from MGM, RKO, Warner Brothers and other studio vaults. Ted Turner launched TBS as his first cable channel by sending the signal of his WTBS Atlanta TV-station to satellite 12/17/76, followed by TNT in 1988. TBS and TNT show mostly TV reruns and sports, with 24-hour news on his CNN starting in 1980.